Hi everyone! Thank you so much for following this story so far! Apologies for the lateness, I have been in full on exam mode! Hopefully can whizz the next few chapters a lot quicker for you guys :) love to you all! Emerald xx

Chapter Five

A Namekian's Request

xxxx

A tense silence had engulfed the entire room, every pair of eyes transfixed on The Gold Fighter; both in fear and in awe. Gohan's pulsating aura was the only sound to penetrate through the stillness, that is, until the gang leader overcame his shock and straightened up to address him.

"Well well well, look who it is lads," he proclaimed loudly, his voice echoing around the ballroom, "Satan City's most wanted!"

The goons that were still conscious roared with laughter around him.

"I'm not going to warn you again," said Gohan, "Drop your weapons and you'll get off lightly."

"You have no idea who you're up against kid, The Red Shark Gang have no mercy," The leader all but smirked, "Get him."

At once, the ten or so thugs pounced but Gohan effortlessly dodged them. One man caught him from behind, aiming his pistol at his head before the teenager reached behind him and crushed it with his hand. The masked member squeaked, as Gohan spun around on the spot; punching him lightly in the stomach so that he fell to the floor in a heap.

With his aura blazing, he jumped high into the air; causing a pair of brutes to crash into each other as he escaped. Gohan smirked from above, about to dive into the mass of criminals and finish the job when-

"GO HOME!"

The young saiyan screeched to a halt, nearly toppling out of the air in shock.

Sure enough Videl was glaring up at him from below, her hands placed on her hips in anger. "You heard me!" she yelled, "No one asked you to come here, mind your own business!"

"But I-" he started weakly.

"I can handle this one!" she growled, positively seething, "Take you and your stupid outfit somewhere else!"

Gohan gaped at her; surely she couldn't be serious.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" She continued, "Leave now before I arrest you too!"

His eyes narrowed from behind his visor, "You've got to be joking; how do you expect to beat these idiots and save all these hostages? People are bleeding out here!"

"I'll figure out a way if you just sod off!" she yelled back.

"ENOUGH!" the Red Shark leader barked, "Lads shut these kids up for gods sake! Bloody teenagers."

Gohan didn't have time to react as a barrage of bullets careened towards him. He dived out of the way, causing them to embed into the brick wall behind him. He allowed himself to fall to the ground, his boot touching the floor to propel himself forwards and slug one of the Shark's so that he crashed into a table.

Next, the young saiyan caught another off guard; phasing in and out and chopping them in the back of the neck. With the rest of the brutes collapsing easily under his attacks; Gohan kicking their gun's away from them should they wake up before the fight was over.

"Oi Gold Fighter!" a shout came from behind him; he had somehow missed one.

"EAT THIS!" as small man cried, igniting the bazooka that was balanced on his shoulder.

Gohan smirked as the explosive hurtled towards him. The crowd screamed and cried out; but the young saiyan held out a hand, pushing out his ki and stopping it in it's tracks. His enemy's eyes widened to the size of saucers, as it floated back to him.

"Here, I believe this belongs to you," the halfling said, before it exploded in a shower of smoke.

The man was blown backwards, but not wounded badly. Gohan dusted his hands off smugly, before he heard a desperate shout behind him.

"Videl no!" Mister Satan exclaimed, standing up and running towards his daughter.

"I'd step down if I were you Satan," The Red Shark leader growled, staring the Champ down as he held Videl in a headlock.

Gohan's throat ran dry; he had been so busy with the others he failed to keep his eye on Videl. The Shark laughed manically as he gripped the girl tighter and Gohan was about to make a move when Videl elbowed the brute in the ribs. Hard.

The force was enough to get him to release Videl, but she didn't let up; instead, she jumped into the air, her foot colliding with the man's face and sending him crashing to the floor in a pitiful heap. Gohan's mouth fell open, he had never seen any girl fight like that other than Eighteen; as she was scientifically enhanced.

The occupants of the ballroom cheered, as police and ambulance siren's filled the air. The young halfling made out several police cars screeching to a halt outside the windows, when he caught Bulma and Yamcha waving frantically at him from the crowd.

Taking the hint, the teenager bolted out one of the caved in windows just as the Satan City Police Force filtered into the ballroom. He made outside just in time to hear Videl call after him, "Wait!" but didn't look back, instead he kicked off from the ground and into the night sky.

Circling above the city a few times, Gohan decided it best to hideout in the grounds of the hotel until the commotion had subsided. He hid behind one of the neatly trimmed hedges, hoping that the ambulance crews had managed to save the critically injured in time. He was just about to drop out of his super saiyan form head back in when something long and wet brushed across his face.

"Urgh!" Gohan jumped, as a large pale green eye appeared in front of him. "What the bloody hell are you two doing here?!" he demanded, both in shock and amazement.

Lime giggled as she sat atop of Icarus. The pair were floating in front of him; which Gohan was sure someone was about to see, seen as how big Icarus had become recently. The dragon had lost the majority of his baby fat, and was now twice the size he was when Gohan first met him. His purple scales were now hardened and rough, the horns on his head more defined and curved backwards. Icarus' snout was longer, and would occasionally smoke when he was excited or angry. His wingspan was just was as long as his body, and he now had no problem fitting both teenager's on his back.

"Saving you from insane boredom of course," said Lime with a wry smile. She was dressed in a flamboyant ballgown that Gohan had never seen before. The skirt looked as though its was made of many colourful fabrics that fanned out over Icarus' body. The top half was tight across her chest and have silvery see through sleeves that reached her elbows. Lime had even made an effort to curl her hair, and had backcombed it into a messy up-do, with what looked suspiciously like some sort of taxidermic bluebird holding it in place.

"Are you gate crashing?" Gohan gaped in disbelief.

"Trust me I tried!" she huffed, "But get this! They wouldn't let me bring a dragon in! What kind of a party is this?"

The young saiyan grinned, "An insanely boring one, obviously."

"Anyway," said Lime, "we were going to sneak in, that is, until we heard all those gunshots going off. Didn't feel like getting a face full of lead today so we decided to wait out here, isn't that right Icarus?"

The large dragon purred, nudging Gohan's arm for him to pet his snout. "Well I'm glad you decided to stay put," he said, scratching Icarus in between the horns and causing his long tail to wag, "sorry though you two, but Bulma is probably wondering where I am and -"

"Oh no you don't!" Lime protested, "I didn't get dressed up and fly all this way for nothing!"

Icarus let out a low growl in agreement.

"Not to mention that you're awfully sober," she continued with a twinkle in her eye, "and that just won't do."

"But Lime!" he whined, "I can't just leave Bulma after whats happened -"

"I saw you in there," she mused, cutting across him again, "Bulma is with Yamcha and is perfectly fine, you sorted out the Red Shark tossers and got the lot of them arrested! I think that calls for celebration!"

Icarus let out a small squawk, ruffling his wings in anticipation.

"Well… Bulma did leave me with Mister Satan at one point…" he mustered, causing Lime to grin mischievously.

"There you go! Now get on Icarus before I set him on you."

Gohan scoffed, "Lime, Icarus wont-" he stopped, however, when smoke started to filter out of his nostril's, a malicious glint in his eye. "Fine, you win."

Lime cheered and Icarus let out a roar which rumbled through the trees. The young saiyan hoped no one had heard it.

"Let's go Gold Fighter," Lime smirked, her turquoise eyes running over his frame, "It's about time someone saved you for a change. I expect they'll be helicopters all over the place out looking for you."

He rolled his eyes before mounting Icarus and settling himself behind her.

As the large dragon spread his wings, Lime turned over and smiled at him; "You know, this is pretty exciting!"

"What is?" he asked.

"Being a superhero!"

"Lime!" he yelled hotly, as Icarus shot into the velvet sky, "I'm not a sodding superhero! I'm a-!"

xxxx

As the morning sun drifted in through the window pane, Gohan relished in the warmth that it brought forth across the cotton duvet he was currently wrapped in. He breathed in the sweet scent surrounding him, not wanting to open his eyes as the sound of birds chirping filtered in through the open window. He was incredibly comfortable, the familiar feeling of Lime's naked form pressed up against his body as she slept. He could hear her breathing softly, her breath tickling his ear as she exhaled.

They were lucky it was Saturday morning, and Mister Lao would spend up until lunchtime tending to his crops out in the fields before opening shop. His precious granddaughter would always be allowed a lie in on a Saturday, and would be left completely undisturbed; something that was unheard of in Gohan's household.

It wasn't usual for the young saiyan to stop over if Lime had invited him back, for want of his mother not getting suspicious and subsequently blowing a gasket. So with his level head overpowering his want to stay in bed with his best friend, Gohan creaked open his eyes; and immediately regretted it.

As soon as the daylight invaded his pupils, a sharp pain rippled across his skull; instantly making him feel nauseous. He groaned, placing a hand to his temple as the events of the night before came flooding back to him. He had flown back with Lime and Icarus to the mountains, when the girl had suggested they break into her grandfather's cellar in search of a couple of bottles of beer.

What they had actually found was a stash of Mister Lao's homemade hooch, which was a lot stronger than Gohan had first realised. Once Icarus had left them behind to hunt for the night, he and Lime had shared an entire bottle of the stuff. Vague memories of him whisking the girl around the cornfields, falling in a ditch on their walk home; along with a lot of snogging whirled around his mind.

He sat up groggily, realising just how dry his mouth was. He must have smoked an entire pack of cigarettes last night, and he desperately needed a drink. His eyes darted around the room, looking for any source of water, when he spotted a bottle of pop on Lime's bedside table.

The slightly tepid drink didn't bother him as he began to down it, his gaze drifting to the alarm clock next to him. Gohan nearly spat out his mouthful when he saw the time.

Leaping to his feet and causing the bed to rock; he ignored his spinning head and hurriedly attempted to find his clothes.

Jumping around with a sock in his teeth and desperately pulling up his trousers, did he hear Lime grumble awake. "What are you doing?" she whined, scrunching her eyes up in agitation, "You're so noisy."

"Lime, its half past eleven!" he whispered frantically, fumbling with his belt, "My mother is going to murder me!"

"So what?" she sighed, burying her head into the pillow, "Just say the party ran over or something."

"AM Lime!" he pressed, "It's eleven-thirty AM! Not PM! Its light outside!"

Her eyes suddenly snapped open, "Oh shit."

"I'm dead, I'm so dead," he whined, collapsing back onto the bed in defeat, still not having had located his shirt.

"Well corpse or not Gohan, Granddad's going to blow a fuse if he catches you in here, you have to leave!" Lime flapped, sitting up and hugging the sheet around her bare chest, "Ugh, I'm too hungover for this shit."

"And whose fault is that?" Gohan fumed, "It was your idea to drink that stuff in the first place, my mouth tastes like drain cleaner."

Lime snorted, failing to hide her smile, "I know, but you have to admit it was pretty fun right?"

He grinned at her cheekily, before she whacked him in the head with a pillow, "Now sod off lover boy before we both get into trouble."

He pouted, sitting up and facing her, "But what am I going to say to my mother? She's bound to notice I've been out all night. And what with the attack, she's probably doing her nut."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Lime grinned, leaning across and capturing his lips with hers. He sighed into the kiss, relishing in the way her lips felt against his.

When they eventually pulled apart, Gohan offered her a wolfish smile, "You know, it's really hard to think properly when you do things like that."

As it turned out, the young saiyan couldn't think of any good excuse as to why he had been absent all night. After he had successfully left the Lao's without being spotted by Lime's grandfather; the best he had come up with was that Frieza had miraculously been brought back to life and he had to sort it out in an epic battle that had made him twelve hours late home.

Instead of using such a far fetched excuse, which he was sure was the result of the amount of alcohol still in his system, the teenager thought it best he would try and sneak back into his bedroom without anyone noticing.

Gohan was halfway into breaking in, luckily his mother never locked the windows, and had one foot balancing on his desk when a gruff voice startled him from behind, causing him to smack his head on the window frame.

"Where have you been Gohan?"

"Ow!" The teenager winced, tears springing to the corners of his eyes as he rubbed his already throbbing head. "Sodding hell Piccolo why did you sneak up on me?!"

The strong Namekian eyed him, his arms folded across his chest, "You didn't answer the question, kid."

Gohan opened his mouth to retort when the unmistakable sound of footsteps thundered up the stairs. No more than a moment later did his mother burst through his bedroom door; Bulma, Krillin and Yamcha in tow. The young saiyan was even more surprised to see Vegeta skulk through over the threshold behind them. There was no sign of Goten and Trunks, but Gohan concluded that they had been ushered out of the house before the adults went ballistic on him. Cursing himself that he was so focused on his hangover that he didn't realise the life energies of Earth's strongest warriors were in his house, he didn't have chance to contemplate just why they were there when Vegeta spoke up.

"Fantastic, the brat's alive, now can I go back to my training?" he said dryly, not at all as phased as everyone else was by the teenager who was currently half inside the window, still in his suit from the night before, although not as pristine.

"Where have you BEEN?!" his mother squawked, having gotten over her initial shock and ignoring the Prince's comment. "Bed empty, no phone call and without a word to anyone! And get down from that window Son Gohan or so help me!"

The young saiyan did as he was told, Piccolo etching closer to the window and burning holes into the back of his head. His skull was pounding as his mother continued her relentless onslaught; apparently, when Gohan didn't return to the ball, Bulma had rang Chi-Chi to see if he was home. When his mother had seen his empty room, she had gone into a frenzy, immediately calling Krillin who had offered to help Yamcha look for the teenager.

Vegeta had been pushed into joining the search party in the early hours by Bulma, and Piccolo, sensing the Z-fighter's circulating the planet, came to investigate what was going on.

"We're sorry Gohan we were all just so worried," said Bulma hastily; she looked like she hadn't slept a wink, "I called every police department in the nearest vicinity."

"Oh come on Bulma, like they could catch me," said Gohan, rolling his eyes.

"I'll have less of your cheek young man!" his mother snarled, "You have no excuse for your complete disregard for anyone else. Out all night searching for you we were! Not only did you pull this Gold Fighter stunt when I specifically asked you not to, you try to sneak back into the house after being missing since the early hours!"

"I transformed into the Gold Fighter to save people Mum!" he retorted angrily.

"He's right Chi-Chi," said Bulma, "He really did save everyone, Kami knows there would have been more causalities if Gohan wasn't as quick thinking."

"See?" Gohan seethed, "And I wasn't missing!"

"Oh? Then where were you?" said Chi-Chi, her eyes narrowing dangerously and she moved closer towards him. As she neared, her eyes widened, grabbing the teen by the collar and giving him a good sniff, "Have you been drinking?!"

"No!" he blurted, attempting to escape her.

"I can smell it on you young man! This has got to stop!" Chi-Chi roared. Gohan could feel everyones eyes upon him as his mother yelled again, "You tell me where you were right now Gohan!"

"Just…out," he finished in a small voice, averting his gaze.

The occupants of his bedroom shared a glance.

"Out?" The Ox-princess blinked, "Out where?"

"Just out alright?!" he snarled in annoyance, getting fed up of the constant questioning, all he wanted to to was go and have a shower and go back to sleep. "Kami, can I not do anything without you lot breathing down my neck every five minutes?!"

A stunned silence encompassed them, before Krillin mustered nervously, "We're sorry Gohan, we just didn't know where you had got to. We just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Yeah," Yamcha chimed in, "You just looked a little off last night mate, and what with the police after you and all, well we didn't know if something might have happened."

"Well I can look after myself!" he snapped, although a pang of guilt rippled across his chest at the look on his friend's face. He knew that Yamcha was referring to the conversation they were having before Bulma introduced her business friends.

"Watch your mouth young man," Chi-Chi warned, "How do you expect any of us to trust that you're safe when you go off galavanting whenever you feel like it?!"

"I'm fifteen years old!" He shot back angrily, "I'm not a baby, I don't need to tell you everything!"

"Maybe your Mum's right Gohan," Krillin interjected cautiously, "We all understood at first, and gave you space. But don't you think its time you just settled down a little?"

Gohan stared at him, dumbfounded. He could hardly believe his ears.

"What Krillin's trying to say," said Bulma, attempting to relieve the sudden tension, "is that we've got no problem with you doing this Gold Fighter stuff -" his mother made a noise of disapproval - "really, we think its great. But you played it a bit dangerous last night kiddo, and then not to come back for hours on end? It's great to have an outlet, but being out all night is another thing altogether; especially with the way things have been lately."

The young saiyan felt anger bubbling in his chest. His friends were all looking towards him in pity. Was this really what they thought of him? A broken piece of furniture that needed to be fixed? He didn't need that, he just needed to be left alone!

"So what?" he fumed, "You think that I should just forget everything that's happened and move on do you? That easy is it?"

"Gohan," Yamcha tried, "We're not saying-"

"I know exactly what you're saying!" Gohan growled, his voice rising, "You all think I've got daddy issues and I'm lashing out!"

His mother gasped, her demeanour suddenly performing a one-eighty at the mention of his father, "Sweetheart, that's not-!"

"Just leave it alright?!" he roared, "I want to be left alone!"

"You will not speak to your mother in that tone!" Chi-Chi flipped again.

"I'll do whatever the hell I want!"

"You're not invincible Gohan!" she yelled, irate, "You will do what as I say for as long as your under my roof! You're just a child!"

"Really?" The teenager boasted loudly, "That's odd isn't it? Because I don't recall you lot treating me like one when you're throwing me in front of manic monsters that want to blow up the sodding universe!"

There was a beat of awkward silence, when Gohan had realised he had gone too far. Both Krillin and Yamcha's faces were a mixture of guilt, shock and hurt. Bulma had tears in her eyes and Chi-Chi was opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. Vegeta, who had been indifferent throughout the entire conversation had suddenly turned his head towards him in interest. He didn't even want to see the look on Piccolo's face.

"I'm going for a shower," he stated dryly, "Then if you don't mind, I'd like to do my homework in peace."

With that, he swiftly left the room; grabbing a towel from the airing cupboard and striding across the landing to the bathroom, where he closed the door behind him with a snap. From behind the door, he could hear the distant murmurs of his friends, but he had no intention of eavesdropping. Instead, he turned on the shower, allowing the hot steam to fill the bathroom before he stripped off and stepped into the tub.

The warm water caused his long hair to stick to his face and back; he tilted his head backwards, as the shower pounded with rapid succession on his skin. He felt sick, but wasn't sure if it was due to his hangover or what had just transpired. He didn't mean to fly off the handle like that, but the words had escaped his mouth before he even had chance to wrap his head around what he was saying.

It was true what Krillin had said; the Z-Fighter's had kept their distance for the first year after the Cell Games, allowing the young saiyan to work out his emotions and feelings in his own way. But Gohan couldn't help but think they thought it was time to get over it; they had moved on, so why couldn't he?

But then again they hadn't inadvertently killed their own father and left their mother without a husband and a little brother without a father, he thought bitterly; turning off the shower abruptly.

Shaking his wet hair out of his eyes, he stared at himself in the mirror; relenting in the fact that he had left the sanctuary of Lime's bed for this. The teenager had all but pulled the towel around his waist when there was a knock at the bathroom door.

"Go away," he said through the door, having an idea of who it was before having to sense them.

"Don't make me break down the door kid."

Gohan sighed, grasping the handle and swinging the it open; he would rather his mother not yell at him for something else.

It was odd seeing the tall Namekian in the house, even though he did spend the three years with them in the lead up to the battle with the Androids; even then he had only sat in the kitchen and ducked his head in Gohan's window from time to time.

Piccolo was staring at him with an unreadable expression, his shoulder pads stretched too wide to be seen beyond the door frame; and his posture was a little slouched from being too tall. Still, he looked intimidating with his muscular green arms folded across his chest and his strong stance unwavering.

"What?" asked Gohan, trying his best to glare at his mentor.

Piccolo ignored him; instead, to the young saiyan's surprise, he dipped his head low and entered the bathroom, pushing Gohan back and closing the door behind him. They stared at each other for a while in the little bathroom, with Gohan having to sit on the edge of the bath and Piccolo leaning up against the door, the sink and toilet to the side of them. The air was thick and humid due to the condensation, which seemed to mimic the tension between the two Z-Fighter's.

"That was harsh Gohan," Piccolo said finally.

"So?" the teenager scoffed, averting his gaze to his lap, "They deserved it."

Piccolo gave him a knowing look, "Do you honestly believe that?"

Gohan stayed silent, feeling himself beginning to waver under his mentor's stare. Was it really how he felt? Piccolo, out of all of them had been the one to train him up to fight. He had taken him away from his mother when he was just four years old, and pushed him to the brink of his potential. He and the rest of the Z-Fighter's had supported and encouraged him, fought alongside him and died for him even. And his father… well…

Slowly, the young saiyan shook his head in response.

Piccolo sighed, "Gohan, your power-"

"Is special," he said, looking up, "I know, you've said before."

"I know you don't like talking about it kid," the Namekian pressed, "but you can't avoid it forever."

"Obviously," Gohan replied sharply, "It seems I can't avoid anything nowadays without there being an intervention in the middle of my bedroom."

"Don't be like that Gohan," Piccolo warned, "We were all worried about you."

"Worried about what exactly?" he fumed, "That I'm going to throw a temper tantrum and blow myself up? Do I look like Chaiozu?!"

His mentor gave him a pointed look.

"Whatever," said Gohan, standing up suddenly and inching towards the door, "I'm going to get dressed."

But Piccolo didn't budge, "This sudden attitude of yours isn't helping either, you need an outlet."

The teenager rolled his eyes, "You heard them, I already have an 'outlet'."

"The Gold Fighter isn't an outlet," said Piccolo, "and neither is running around defying your mother with other idiotic teenagers."

"Oh, so now you're on her side?" he scoffed, Piccolo and Chi-Chi were notorious of not seeing eye to eye.

"Tell me Gohan, when was the last time you trained, and I mean really trained?" questioned Piccolo, ignoring him.

The young saiyan opened his mouth to retort, then closed it. Thinking for a moment, he opened it again before Piccolo cut across him.

"My point exactly," he said smugly, "Your mother informs me that she hasn't seen you train for months, you won't even teach Goten a kata."

"What so you're best friends now?" Gohan guffawed.

"You're just getting yourself into trouble with this Gold Fighter gig," Piccolo continued, "You managed to cause a lot of damage with the stunt you pulled last night."

"I don't see you lot doing anything useful," the young saiyan grumbled, folding his arms moodily across his chest.

The Namekian raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And you think messing around catching criminals is sufficient enough to keep up your strength if another threat were to face the Earth?"

Gohan turned his head, refusing to look at him.

"What if someone more powerful than Cell came along?" Piccolo continued, "Are you saying you'll be useful then?"

Gohan's demeanour began to waver as his left arm started to tingle uncomfortably. An enemy greater than Cell? It wouldn't bare thinking about.

"It could happen," said Piccolo, "And you wouldn't be ready."

The teenager snapped his gaze towards him, feeling a mixture of shame and annoyance. What was it of Piccolo's business anyway? He was just trying to be a normal teenager for goodness sake! "Well I suppose you and Vegeta will have to take over then won't you? Like Mum said I'm still a child."

"You're mother may be an idiot but even she realises that you're the strongest of all of us," Piccolo snorted, "and you're off wasting your time and potential whilst the rest of us sit and worry."

"So thats the reason behind this sudden intervention?" frowned Gohan.

"If you haven't noticed, we've been trying to reach out to you for a while," he replied, "You've not been yourself lately."

"I am being myself!" The halfling said as he rolled his eyes, "It's called growing up Piccolo."

"I don't see anything grown up about scaring your mother and Bulma half to death," he shot back, his beetle black eyes narrowing. "What's going on kid, where were you?"

Gohan's breath suddenly hitched in his throat; there was no way he could tell his mentor about him and Lime. He knew they were friends of course, the young saiyan having mentioned her on numerous occasions. And as Piccolo's penetrative stare locked onto him, Gohan made his decision.

"I was out with friends," he explained, feeling guilty. Although Gohan had skirted around the truth before, he had never told his mentor an outright lie, still, it was the safest way to avoid certain castration. "Friends from school," he continued, "We just hung around the village and then camped out in one of the fields and drank a bit, I s'pose I just lost track of time was all."

Gohan looked up hesitantly; it wasn't a complete and utter lie. Lime was a friend from the village and he had lost track of time. And well, as for 'camping out' in the fields, he was sure that included things such as lying in the long blades of grass. Which is what he did, without any clothes on of course, but in Gohan's defence it was an incredibly warm night!

Piccolo eyed him for a moment, before sighing; "Well at least you weren't getting yourself into any real trouble this time."

The teenager sweated nervously, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"Well, I suppose its settled then," Piccolo sighed after a while.

"What is?" Gohan asked skeptically, he didn't like the look of the smirk that had made its way onto his mentor's lips.

"Your training," Piccolo informed him, "You're going to start training with Vegeta from tomorrow."

"WHAT?!" He yelled, "Since when?!"

"Since your mother grounded you just now," the Namek grinned, "meaning you'll have more time to train instead of loitering behind shops with your friends."

"And you actually got my mother to agree to this?" he said in disbelief.

"She thinks the discipline will do you good," he stated indifferently, "I managed to convince her that the discipline will be good for your mind too."

"But I don't want to train!" Gohan protested, "Especially not with Vegeta!"

Piccolo gave him a smug look, "I thought you just said that you wanted Vegeta and I to take over if another threat came to the planet? In order to do that we will need to become stronger than the second level of super saiyan, or at least reach it."

"B-but-! Mister Piccolo!"

"It's settled kid, don't try to argue," he warned, "You'll train with Vegeta to make sure you don't get weak, and then you can help him ascend. If he manages to, then I won't make you train anymore."

Gohan couldn't help but notice that his mentor said this with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"I'll jump in occasionally," Piccolo continued, "But right now Dende needs some of my focus with his studies."

"This is so unfair," the teenager pouted, leaning back on the bath, "It's like you're all ganging up on me."

Piccolo let out a low chuckle, "Don't worry kid, we'll make sure you're up to scratch before we do that."